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USB cables...

Whoey · 36 · 2543

fr Offline Whoey

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USB cables...
on: December 05, 2016, 01:57:32 PM
Any one have any thoughts on USB cables? A few of mine are due to be replaced and although there are seemingly tons of cheap ones available I'm thinking a few fast charge/quality cables might be in order rather than cheap junk.

These would be for charging my phone and tablet, both microusb to standard usb.
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ca Offline 16VGTIDave

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Re: USB cables...
Reply #1 on: December 05, 2016, 02:19:57 PM
Buy good quality cables. There is a reason why cheap cables are cheap. The most important being the wires. Cheap cables use very thin, low quality wires with poor insulation. Not what one wants when trying to get a tablet to charge.
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wales Offline Smashie

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Re: USB cables...
Reply #2 on: December 05, 2016, 02:20:28 PM
I replaced all of my cheap generic cables with Anker cables, haven't had one fail yet :tu:
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fr Offline Whoey

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Re: USB cables...
Reply #3 on: December 05, 2016, 02:27:42 PM
interesting, also seeing a variety pack on amazon for a somewhat reasonable price.
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fr Offline Whoey

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Re: USB cables...
Reply #4 on: December 05, 2016, 03:52:35 PM
major irony, the cable that came with my Motorola Defy is the only cable I used for that phone, and most of the time with my Nexus 4... and it's still pretty much intact as new, whereas the cable for our Kindle, Nexus 7 then Tab 8.4 have all worn next to the actual jack part requiring replacement.  :facepalm:

I have added Anker cable pack to my wishlist, and once I place my next amazon order I'll probably throw them in with it.
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ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: USB cables...
Reply #5 on: December 05, 2016, 06:46:17 PM
I usually just buy cheapo cables on eBay, usually 6-10 at a time.  They get lost and/or destroyed too easily to waste money on good ones.

Def
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Offline bismawiratara

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Re: USB cables...
Reply #6 on: December 05, 2016, 06:51:12 PM
I use blackberry oem and the adaptor is my built in htc adaptor work fine.  For powerbank i use unknown cable,  still working

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk



ch Offline Etherealicer

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Re: USB cables...
Reply #7 on: December 05, 2016, 06:55:00 PM
Hmmm... in my case the cables accumulate and accumulate and I have to get rid of them from time to time :think:
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fr Offline m47mu74nt

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Re: USB cables...
Reply #8 on: December 05, 2016, 06:57:26 PM
I usually just buy cheapo cables on eBay, usually 6-10 at a time.  They get lost and/or destroyed too easily to waste money on good ones.

Def

I made a test once, I could draw 1.5~2Amps from a good 1.5m Samsung cable (that was given with their fast charging travel adapter ), with same wall adapter, only 500mA with a cheap USB cable
You can get cheap ones, but at least make sure they have a large gauge (low AWG number)
This blog post explains it quite well (and much better than I would): http://goughlui.com/2014/10/01/usb-cable-resistance-why-your-phonetablet-might-be-charging-slow/
« Last Edit: December 05, 2016, 07:02:24 PM by m47mu74nt »


ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: USB cables...
Reply #9 on: December 06, 2016, 04:54:46 PM
I usually just buy cheapo cables on eBay, usually 6-10 at a time.  They get lost and/or destroyed too easily to waste money on good ones.

Def

I made a test once, I could draw 1.5~2Amps from a good 1.5m Samsung cable (that was given with their fast charging travel adapter ), with same wall adapter, only 500mA with a cheap USB cable
You can get cheap ones, but at least make sure they have a large gauge (low AWG number)
This blog post explains it quite well (and much better than I would): http://goughlui.com/2014/10/01/usb-cable-resistance-why-your-phonetablet-might-be-charging-slow/

Thanks for the link.  I'll check it out, but there's a very good chance I won't have any idea what they are talking about... :P

Def
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wales Offline hiraethus

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Re: USB cables...
Reply #10 on: December 06, 2016, 05:02:41 PM
Cheap cable = thin wire = high resistance = slow charging & easy to break.


fr Offline m47mu74nt

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Re: USB cables...
Reply #11 on: December 07, 2016, 07:48:55 AM
Cheap cable = thin wire = high resistance = slow charging & easy to break.

 :cheers:


nz Offline Syncop8r

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Re: USB cables...
Reply #12 on: December 07, 2016, 10:09:20 AM
Resistance is futile


fr Offline m47mu74nt

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Re: USB cables...
Reply #13 on: December 07, 2016, 10:28:36 AM
Resistance is futile

xD


PS: and that's why some tablet dedicated chargers are 5.3V instead of 5V to take into account the voltage drop at high current  :tu:


fr Offline Whoey

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Re: USB cables...
Reply #14 on: December 07, 2016, 11:51:06 AM
I've only noticed variance on the Amperage on chargers, never voltage...
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england Offline Kev D

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Re: USB cables...
Reply #15 on: December 12, 2016, 02:23:05 PM
The last fast charge ones I bought are JuicEBitz ones off amazon. I've had them quite a while and are really good. They come with a couple of nice velcro cable tidies to, which have come in handy for other things.

These ones...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/JuicEBitz%C2%AE-Charger-Android-Tablets-Premium/dp/B00S2WQDNG/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1481548864&sr=8-6&keywords=fast+charge+usb+cables


fr Offline Whoey

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Re: USB cables...
Reply #16 on: December 12, 2016, 03:56:01 PM
I was looking at this Anker 6 pack for 10gbp: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B016BF4I5K/

The amazon.es version is 5 cables for 10 euros.  :facepalm:

The difference is one less of the shorter cables, which is fine for my purposes.

The difficult we do immediately, the impossible takes a little longer.


fr Offline Whoey

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Re: USB cables...
Reply #17 on: December 12, 2016, 04:00:39 PM
The difficult we do immediately, the impossible takes a little longer.


england Offline Kev D

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Re: USB cables...
Reply #18 on: December 12, 2016, 04:01:03 PM
Anker should be pretty good. I just got an anker battery for my note 4 and it seems better than the samsung original, and comes with 18 month warranty.

It's just a shame some of the ones in that pack are so short.


england Offline Kev D

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Re: USB cables...
Reply #19 on: December 12, 2016, 04:03:25 PM
also really digging this usb3.0 hub: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anker-AH430-4-Port-Compact-Aluminum/dp/B00INMS8VK

Now that looks good. I think I'll treat myself to one of those for work. We are getting new computers in the new year and mine is a laptop with only 2 usb ports on it, the rest are on the docking station at the back so it will come in handy, and look cool on my desk to.


fr Offline Whoey

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Re: USB cables...
Reply #20 on: December 12, 2016, 04:07:16 PM
also really digging this usb3.0 hub: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anker-AH430-4-Port-Compact-Aluminum/dp/B00INMS8VK

Now that looks good. I think I'll treat myself to one of those for work. We are getting new computers in the new year and mine is a laptop with only 2 usb ports on it, the rest are on the docking station at the back so it will come in handy, and look cool on my desk to.
I like that the ports are upwards instead of forwards, yet it's still stylish and not blocky.

Anker should be pretty good. I just got an anker battery for my note 4 and it seems better than the samsung original, and comes with 18 month warranty.

It's just a shame some of the ones in that pack are so short.
1.8m is perfect for my tablet/sofa surfing device which is the main one I need replaced atm, my motorola cable is 0.9m, and that's pretty much perfect for most of my uses, so having one extra smaller might just be the winning combo for me.

The difficult we do immediately, the impossible takes a little longer.


mc Offline Gerhard Gerber

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Re: USB cables...
Reply #21 on: December 13, 2016, 10:31:41 AM
I've never broken or needed to replace any USB cable........I have spares  :rofl:


ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: USB cables...
Reply #22 on: December 13, 2016, 11:58:48 PM
I am still waiting on my latest load of el cheapos from eBay.  I hope they arrive soon- my last batch are almost all dead.   :ahhh

Def
Leave the dents as they are- let your belongings show their scars as proudly as you do yours.


fr Offline Whoey

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Re: USB cables...
Reply #23 on: December 14, 2016, 11:41:15 AM
I still have the anker cables on my want list, but after looking at other usb3 hubs (my new board has a couple usb3, so it'd be nice to have some at desk level instead of having to reach behind my tower)  I may wait until I can get a usb3/e-sata docking station with SATA connections, and a card reader in addition to usb3 ports, that would help out quit a bit rather than ending up with multiple different devices cluttering my desk even further.
The difficult we do immediately, the impossible takes a little longer.


fr Offline Whoey

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Re: USB cables...
Reply #24 on: January 01, 2017, 01:34:12 PM
Pulled the trigger on a anker 5 pack as it's on special on amazon.es today at less than half price. Also threw in a 4 port usb3 hub, not the one I mentioned earlier as it has a short cable, and I wanted at least 1m to get from my tower to desktop. And a much needed offbrand toner for our laserprinter to meet the minimum order free shipping (actually the hub was the topup).
The difficult we do immediately, the impossible takes a little longer.


fr Offline Whoey

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Re: USB cables...
Reply #25 on: January 03, 2017, 12:39:54 PM
Anker pack has arrived, plugged my phone in using my usual wall wart and one of the short cables, it's charged from 70-92% in what seems like a very short time compared to before. Also swapped out my tablet cable for the 1.8m cable, and my wife's phone is charging on one of the 0.9m ones...

So far so good.
The difficult we do immediately, the impossible takes a little longer.


ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: USB cables...
Reply #26 on: January 03, 2017, 04:28:15 PM
Maybe I should look into some better cables.  I am running out of cheapos again.... :ahhh

Def
Leave the dents as they are- let your belongings show their scars as proudly as you do yours.


fr Offline Whoey

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Re: USB cables...
Reply #27 on: January 03, 2017, 05:47:32 PM
They do seem to charge notably faster than before, using the same adapters. Also the micro usb jack end is very snug and stays plugged in tightly so far in all devices. Also they each have their own velcro like ties to help keep them tidy when not in use.
The difficult we do immediately, the impossible takes a little longer.


england Offline Kev D

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Re: USB cables...
Reply #28 on: January 24, 2017, 10:38:21 AM
I picked up an Anker 4 port usb 3 hub yesterday. I get my new pc at work in the next week or two and it comes with 1 usb 3 port so got the hub in prep for it. It's model number A7507

The black thing in front of it is a velcro pad to hold it down. Once I get my new pc I'll stick it down with it to secure it.



mc Offline Gerhard Gerber

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Re: USB cables...
Reply #29 on: January 24, 2017, 11:38:30 AM
They do seem to charge notably faster than before, using the same adapters. Also the micro usb jack end is very snug and stays plugged in tightly so far in all devices. Also they each have their own velcro like ties to help keep them tidy when not in use.

The last USB hub I bought has two higher amperage ports indicated for charging devices.


 

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